Giants icon shares theory about Daniel Jones' 2023 struggles

New York Giants legend, team radio broadcaster and NFL analyst Carl Banks has a theory about why quarterback Daniel Jones struggled so much during the 2023 season before Jones suffered a torn ACL on Nov. 5. 

"And the other thing . . . is his mental state, right? He’s been beat up and I don’t have any doubt that he’ll go out and he’ll compete," Banks said about Jones during an edition of the "Bleav in Giants" podcast, per Serena Burks of Giants Wire/USA Today. "But when the lights come on and the bullets start to fly, is he (post-traumatic stress disorder)? Is he traumatized? Is he having flashbacks? Right? Is he shell-shocked because he took a lot of punishment and it impacted his judgment in the game?" 

New York's woeful offensive line has been linked with Jones' play for years and was again ripped by analysts this past fall when the 26-year-old tossed just two touchdown passes and six interceptions across fewer than six completed games. 

According to StatMuse, Jones has taken the third-most sacks in the NFL (179) since the start of the 2019 season. 

"And that’s not an excuse," Banks continued during his breakdown of Jones' performances. "It’s fair and it’s not a lie. You know, when people say, well, you know, Daniel just can’t do this and you blame everything on the offensive line. Well, that’s how it works in the NFL. Quarterbacks who have time, (they) make good judgments. Quarterbacks get hit a lot, they make bad judgments."

A lack of confidence isn't the only concern regarding the punishment Jones took over his first five NFL seasons. Along with the torn ACL, he's also suffered two neck injuries since the fall of 2021, the latest of which occurred this past October. 

It's widely believed worries about Jones' overall health have caused the Giants to at least explore either selecting a quarterback with the sixth overall pick of this year's draft or moving up in the draft order for a signal-caller such as Drake Maye of the North Carolina Tar Heels or J.J. McCarthy of the Michigan Wolverines. 

While mock drafts change weekly, New York likely won't have a chance to select either USC Trojans star Caleb Williams or LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels on April 25. 

Even if it's true that the Giants want to move on from Jones next offseason, they'll likely need him to make some starts during the 2024 campaign. If his offensive line routinely betrays him as it has in the past, those starts could be his last in a Giants uniform.